Working for Congress over the last few years has opened my eyes in so many ways. I have learned not only how massive the federal government is but also how it affects people in various situations with the different choices that the Admin and Congress decide on. The public response whether it is positive or negative more often than not is not faced by the Member but rather the staff and not a lot of people seem to realize that.

While the Senate pays staff the typical every two weeks schedule the House pays once a month at the end of the month (the last business day). With this very possible shutdown flying towards us at Mach fuck House staff are left to scramble to figure out rent, bills, and even plans to visit family for Christmas. Now I know some people think that people in Congress make a ton of money and well... at the staff level that just is not the case.

In 2022 when I started there was no minimum or floor for entry-level positions and that meant that people I knew who were working 10-14 hour days 7 days a week were making a whooping $30k a year. I was "lucky" and made a killer $47.5k but the trade-off was I would hit my 40-hour mark in 3 days 4 at the latest. Not coming from a rich family that could just pay for everything for me led me deeper into Bitcoin and crypto as a whole to survive. Right now we are short-staffed due to people who left right before or right after the elections and essentially I am handling 3 different positions right now. May pay has been temporarily increased to $70k a year as a result. Mind you one of the people I replaced alone made that.

For everyone cheering to shut down the government and stick it to the bureaucrats know that 1) they don't make near the money you think they do they are not bringing in millions a year and 2) the average staffer like myself gets the short end of the stick. While not all staff are deemed essential I would or will be and that means I get to keep coming into work with the promise of back pay. Well, backpay is nice and all but it doesn't help with the bills now. It is extremely hard in a place like DC to build a nest egg as a staffer and this is a key reason why we lose the good staff.

The best staffers I have had the privilege to work with often start out on The Hill before they get offered good salaries with actual benefits and so they leave for the private sector. Funding fights jeopardize our pay and since Congress has really carved out a ton of exemptions for themselves when it comes to job security, HR, etc. it can be rough. When times are bad boy oh boy are times... well bad. Other staffers I have worked with who also care more or less did the same thing except they came back after making good money and being able to take a pay cut.

I am sure this will bring up well why do you stay and the reason for that is because my Committee passes good bipartisan legislation. We have passed critical bills that will help not just the US but the entire world and because of that I don't mind dealing with the bumps in the road. Maybe oneday it will get old or I will finally just decide hey I want to move on to something else but right now I am happy where I am and with what we do.